Ignorance
by Loving Healer
Summary: Percy and Nico have been dating since their first year of high school. In their junior year, Nico switches schools to a private one and their relationship eventually dies out—until one day when his neighbor, Jason Grace, brings a friend with him to Nico's private school and it turns out to be Percy Jackson himself. What's Nico going to do now? [[High School AU]] [[Percico]]
1. Prologue

_**Author's Note: Yeah, **_**another****_ Percico fanfic. I just don't get it. I can think of so many plot ideas, but I can never think of the details for the story. Oh well, at least you guys get more Percico fanfics. Although, I don't think I'll be starting to write this fanfic until I finish my other ones first. Also, this is in Nico's POV, so don't get confused. And, my chapters aren't usually this short. My prologues are just short. Don't worry, my chapters are longer than this._**

_**Note: Thank you, Shinigami89, for editing and beta reading my chapters and all of that. I really appreciate it!**_

_**Warning: Language, homosexuality (I'll add more along the way)**_

_**Disclaimer: I do not own the names "Goode High School" and "Yancy Academy." They're both from Rick Riordan. The characters and stuff are also from Rick Riordan. Just saying.**_

* * *

**Ignorance**

**Author: Loving Healer**

**Prologue**

* * *

"I love you Nico, you know that right?" My boyfriend, Percy Jackson, smiled down at me. He pecked my lips, and I couldn't help but smile.

"I love you too Percy." I leaned closer into Percy's body. We were sitting on the roof of his house. It was probably one in the morning, but neither of us seemed to care. It was around the end of summer and school was about to start. My father got me into a private school named Goodwill. I wasn't looking forward to it though. I would have to leave my only friend, Jason Grace, and my first and probably last boyfriend, Percy Jackson.

"Junior year is going to be hard." Percy glanced up at the sky while his grip around me tightened. "I'll find some time to talk you."

I sighed. "You know, long-distance relationships seem hard. We can always just break it—"

I was interrupted by a pair of lips pushing themselves onto my own. I responded quickly, and Percy's hand found my neck and pushed my head closer. I climbed onto his lap and placed my hands onto his cheeks while his hands slid down until he held my waist.

Our lips moved more sensually against each other for awhile. His hands slipped under the hem of my black shirt, but I grabbed his wrists.

"We're not going to have sex on the roof Percy," I informed him.

Our lips still brushed each other with every word we spoke. It felt nice, but I felt so empty knowing that I wouldn't be able to do this with him as much anymore. Every night during the summer, we would just sit and talk until we were too tired to climb back into Percy's room. Percy usually carried me back since I refused to move and I told him I could just sleep on the roof.

He groaned. "Why _not?_Don't torture me like this, Nico. No one's awake, and we've had sex in weirder places."

All of the places that we've had sex raced through my mind, and I blushed. I hope he couldn't see it. I mean, it was dark outside, right?

"I know you're blushing Nico." He kissed me shortly, but before I could respond he pulled back. "You're just so fucking cute whenever you blush."

I frowned, wrapping my arms around his neck. "Shut up," I mumbled.

He rested his forehead against mine, our lips still brushing each other. "I'd rather not." He grinned, and his smile looked so much more beautiful under the stars and the moonlight.

I rolled my eyes. "What about my idea?"

Percy glared at me—something that I rarely saw.

"We're _not_breaking up just because we go to different schools," Percy finalized. "You've been saying this _all_summer, Nico. My answer is still _n_o."

I frowned. "I just thought you'd be better off not having to deal with a long-distance relationship. I mean, now that I'm gone, people are going to think that you're single. You're good-looking, athletic, nice, funny, and outgoing. Girls like that in a guy."

"Those are some nice words and compliments and all, but I'm _gay_."

"You could be bi." I shrugged. "I mean, who knows?"

"_I kno_w," Percy exaggerated. "Girls are just confusing and annoying."

"Not _all_girls are," I remarked. "I bet there's _one_ girl out there who's _not_confusing or annoying. And I bet you that girl's going to be your girlfriend."

"Oh really?"

"Yeah really."

"Well, I bet you that she's _not._" Percy smirked.

I raised an eyebrow, looking slightly amused. "Prove it to me."

Percy's eyes wrinkled with mischief before he threw me onto his shoulders. I yelled in surprise, and I was even more surprised when Percy threw me onto his bed and climbed on top of me.


	2. Why I Never Went On The Swings

_**Author's Note: So apparently there is a Paramore song called **_**Ignorance ****_and I had no idea about this until it suddenly played on my iPod. Eh, I just felt like sharing my recent discovery._**

_**Have I been very inactive? Yes I have. Do I regret it? Yes I do. I haven't had any time to write due to my art projects, English homework, chemistry homework, math homework, et cetera. So, I'm really sorry about that.**_

_**There's this one phrase that I took from some guy in one of my English teacher's classes because it was too perfect to forget.**_

_**Now that Depression is over, let's finally start this story! Oh how much I missed Nico's POV.**_

_**So, sorry for the inconvenience, expect late chapters (I'm so sorry but now that I'm a sophomore, classes are ten times harder), and enjoy the first chapter!**_

_**I also plan on this story to not be very long mostly because I can't think of a very long plot for this story. I would've deleted it, but a fair amount of people would probably be angry for it to be deleted.**_

_**So here I am, writing this chapter. Sorry for the long author's note, I just haven't written anything in a while so I needed to inform you guys of all of this. **_

_**Note: Thank you to my friend for editing these chapters! I really appreciate it!**_

_**Warning: Language, homosexuality (I'll add more along the way)**_

_**Disclaimer: I do not own the names "Goode High School" and "Yancy Academy." They're both from Rick Riordan. The characters and stuff are also from Rick Riordan. Just saying.**_

* * *

**Ignorance**

**By: Loving Healer**

**Chapter One: Why I Never Went On The Swings**

* * *

"I'll call you when I get there, alright?"

I nodded, and I suddenly felt very stupid because he couldn't even see the nod over the phone.

"Yeah, sure, whatever," I replied with a flat tone before hanging up on my neighbor, Jason Grace.

I sighed, running a hand through my hair. I had so much homework to do today, yet my neighbor insisted on hanging out with me. He just _had _to pick this day of all of the other days? Well, I couldn't really blame him; I was busy doing homework every day. It was halfway through the school year, so you couldn't exactly put the blame on me for being a junior preparing for exams soon. Blame the teachers or even the government for the nefarious abomination they created by the name of _school_.

Damn you, Jason Grace. Couldn't you have waited until I _actually_ had some decent free time?

Then again, I _never_ seem to have free time anymore.

The bell signaling the end of school for the day had already rung, and I was now waiting for a certain neighbor to come and get me. I didn't really know what to do; the only friends that I had here were Leo Valdez and Frank Zhang, but I had no idea as to where they were. They probably went home already or something; who would even want to stay at school for longer than absolutely necessary?

I decided to walk to a nearby park across the street from the school because the band kids, cheerleaders, and color guard kids were starting to get annoying with their loud, obnoxious music. I mean, sure they were good at what they did, but it wasn't like I particularly cared. They actually could've been bad for all I know, but I was just not paying attention enough to realize their horrible performances. I'm just calling them good because people were accepted into this school for either your intelligence or your athletic talent. Most of the people doing sports were probably accepted because of their sports-y stuff.

Yes, I literally did just say sports-y stuff.

My feet carried me along the sidewalk as I lazily scanned the area around me. There were people at the track doing God-knows-what in the heat; there were random people just hanging out by their cars in the parking lot for some weird reason; and there were other students that were starting to walk home to school or starting to get into their cars to drive home.

The sun beat down heavily on my frail form as I shifted the backpack straps upon my shoulders. Due to all of the heavy workload of homework I had, I had the _great opportunity _to bring most of my textbooks home. Wasn't that fun? I bet my teachers are _so happy _right now.

They better fucking be. God damn you school.

_Anyway_, I continued walking down the sidewalk as quickly as I could so I could sit on some bench at the park and rest my aching shoulders. A few of the really dumb girls that got into the school because of their athletic ability pushed past me as if I weren't even there, giggling in the process. One of their Starbucks drinks almost spilled down my shirt, and I was pretty sure she would've been more pissed about her drink being ruined instead of one of my many black shirts being ruined.

I was practically invisible at my school except to the teachers and my friends. The teachers only knew of my existence because I was exceptionally smart, and Leo and Frank only knew me because Leo made fun of me one day for being excessively Emo and then Frank told Leo to chill.

For some reason, we became friends after that.

Once I finally arrived at the children's playground, I practically slammed my boulder-like backpack against the ground and say in the nearest thing that I was able to sit on. It was a swing, and I haven't been on a swing for _years. _Technically months, but I only went on the swing because when I told Percy that I haven't been on a swing in years, he literally pushed me down onto the swing.

A sharp pang in my heart almost made me physically wince. Ah yes, Percy Jackson: My assumed-to-be ex-boyfriend. The only reason why it was _assumed _was because I haven't talked to him ever since the second week of school. I was just too busy to even talk to him over the phone because I'd get distracted and end up procrastinating on doing homework.

Then it got to a point when I didn't even bother calling him anymore. I felt as if I tired him out from all of my excuses to him. I assumed we broke up, but I wasn't very sure yet. In my mind, I told myself I was single, but I had no idea as to what Percy thought.

I wished I never transferred schools. Then maybe I could've been in that ecstatic relationship with Percy still.

But of course, my father wanted me to make use of my intelligence in a school that was actually worth going to. Even though my father knew how much I loved Perseus Jackson, he applied me to the private school in secret, and I ended up getting accepted. I got into this huge long fight with my father about it, but in the end, he won as usual.

So here I was, swinging lazily with my navy blue backpack beside me on the ground, at the park that was directly across the street from my private school.

I sighed, tightly gripping the rubber chains attached to the swing itself and dragging my feet along the wood chips beneath me. Apparently, they replaced the sand in the park because the sand could've gotten in children's eyes, and it was really dangerous.

So the sand was replaced with wood chips. Like _that _was going to make the situation better. Imagine getting wood chips in your eyes. Good gods.

I leaned my head against the chains, continuing to swing aimlessly. I was wondering when in the world Jason was going to find me since there was no possible way that he'd find me at the school. I wasn't _there _in the first place.

I sighed once more. Why didn't I ever go on the swings? I should go on more often; it made me find some inner peace or whatever those hippies on the streets said.

"Hey!"

And that inner peace was just ruined.

I glanced up through the bangs shielding my eyes like sunglasses to faintly spot golden hair heading my way. I wonder how he found me even though I told him I would be at the school.

He finally caught up to me, and I saw two other people slowly walking behind him. I couldn't blame them; they were probably terrified of some sunshine guy like Jason to be talking with midnight me.

_Haha_, wasn't I clever with my alliteration or what?

I blew the bangs out of my eyes and I nodded toward him. "Hey Jason."

"You didn't tell me you'd be down here," Jason accused with a ridiculous pout that did _not _fit his facial features which practically _reeked _of sexual tendencies.

I shrugged. "I figured you would call me, but I guess not."

"I _told _you that you should've called him," a feminine voice came from behind him. My eyes quickly flickered toward the origin of the voice. It was a teenage girl about the same age as Jason with stormy gray eyes and bright blonde hair that spilled down her shoulders. Her hair wasn't as blinding as Jason's hair, fortunately. Jason's hair could make anyone blind. Good thing I was already used to his godly hair color that made him look as if he were glowing.

She was linking arms with another guy that I couldn't see very well because he was facing the floor. But when he looked up, shock was written all over his face, and I knew it was the same for me.

I attempted to regain my composure before asking, "Who are they? And why are they here?"

I ripped my gaze from the shocked teenage guy over to my neighbor instead. He was smiling quite sheepishly might I add.

He scratched the back of his head nervously. "They weren't doing anything today, so I decided to bring them along. Sorry I didn't mention this to you before."

I rolled my eyes before automatically going to state at the boy in front of me who was trying to get used to the idea that I was there.

No wonder I never went on the swings. Bad things always seemed to happen to me whenever I sat down on a swing. I couldn't tell if this situation was necessarily bad or not.

"Nico?" He asked breathlessly with wide eyes. The girl and Jason stared at him incredulously. Since no one mentioned my name at all in the recent conversation, they were most likely wondering how in the world he knew my name.

How _Percy Jackson _knew my name.


	3. So You Say You're Gay

_**Note: Thank you to my friend for editing these chapters! I really appreciate it!**_

_**Warning: Language, homosexuality (I'll add more along the way)**_

_**Disclaimer: I do not own the names "Goode High School" and "Yancy Academy." They're both from Rick Riordan. The characters and stuff are also from Rick Riordan. Just saying.**_

* * *

**Ignorance**

**By: Loving Healer**

**Chapter Two: So You Say You're Gay...**

* * *

"Who are you?" I narrowed my eyes into slits at my previous boyfriend. The boy who I went to whenever I wanted to cry my heart out or complain about some stupid thing. The boy who I went to whenever I wanted to cuddle and watch a movie or laugh about absolutely nothing with. The boy who showed me what love was after I lost my mother and sister. The boy who showed me how much I made a difference in this world.

The boy that I loved was standing right in front of me. But why did I feign ignorance you ask?

Because the girl linking arms with him was his girlfriend.

I wasn't stupid; I was accepted into this school for a reason. The linking arms, the loving eyes that she gave to him. I wasn't stupid, but it _hurt _knowing that I was fucking right. I _knew _Percy was going to find a girl that he would actually like one day. No matter how many times Percy tried to convince me how gay he was and that all the girls he knew were annoying, I knew he would find someone.

And here she was, standing right in front of me, breaking my heart in the process.

Percy's eyes widened more. "You don't remember me?"

"I don't recall ever meeting you." My heart twisted with agony with each and every syllable. I wanted him to know how much I missed him. How much I missed being in his arms and him trailing kisses along my neck. But it wasn't like I could show that in front of his _girlfriend._

I could see the pain being reflected in those sea green eyes that I have come to love so much. But, it was his choice to get a girlfriend. I could see now that Percy thought the same thing as me.

That our relationship was officially done for.

Jason and the girl were glancing back and forth between us with perplexed expressions across their faces. I had to keep my guard up, however; whenever Percy was around; my walls always seemed to crumble to the floor. But I had to try and pretend I had never met Percy. I had to pretend that everything that we experienced together never happened.

To the day we first met to the last day of seeing him in person.

And here he was again. What did I ever to do deserve this? Oh yeah, I just had to go and sit on the stupid swing. I would've been _fine _seeing Percy in general, but now that he had a girlfriend, I didn't think it was very great.

Scratch that: It _definitely _wasn't great.

"You don't remember _anything _about me?" Percy sounded desperate at this point, and gods I wanted to tell him how much I missed him.

"You probably have the wrong person," I stated coldly, shoving my fists deep into my pockets so he wouldn't know how frustrated I was feeling.

Percy's gaze flickered down to my action before moving up to meet my eyes again. "I know I don't have the wrong person. You're Nico do Angelo, aren't you?"

"Indeed I am," I responded with a flat tone. "You've probably heard of me somewhere and mixed me up with someone else."

Percy chuckled bitterly. "Why are you doing this to me? I _know _you're the one I spent every day of my life for the past two years with. The fact that your hands are in your pockets proves it to me too."

My eyes narrowed even more than they were before. "What are you talking about?" My clenched fists were almost trembling in my pockets, but I had to contain it before anyone noticed.

"I know every aspect of you, Nico do Angelo, as creepy as it sounds," Percy began. "You were the _worst _person to try and read. It was impossible to know what you were thinking in that head of yours. But in those two years of us being together, I found out more about you than anyone else ever will." Percy gestured to my hands in the front pockets. "You clench your fists when you're angry, and you usually hide them in your jacket pockets. But since you're not wearing a jacket, I'm guessing your other option were your jean pockets."

Jason's and the girl's jaws dropped to the floor while my eyes widened and my lips parted in shock. Did he really know that much about me? I didn't think he even _cared _that much about me. I always thought he was with me because he felt sorry for me. But, this was _beyond _just feeling sympathy.

"Wait," the girl suddenly cut in. "What do you mean by 'those two years of us being together?'"

Percy smiled, and the twinkle that I usually saw in his eyes sparked to life. "Nico's my boyfriend."

Way to be blunt, Percy.

Jason's eyes shot like bullets toward me, but my gaze stayed upon Percy.

"You've probably mistaken me for someone else," I repeated once more. "I don't ever remember meeting you in my life at all."

A mixture of pain and anger swirled in his sea green eyes. I hated knowing that I was making him feel this way. But I didn't have a choice. I didn't even know if he actually loved me anymore. For all I knew, he was just trying to get me to tell the truth and then he would be content, right?

I didn't know actually; when it came to people's feelings, I was the most unintelligent person across the globe.

Percy stared me down, but I wasn't about to let my guard fall. I've held my walls through many different situations, and even if _the _Percy Jackson was standing right in front of me at that very moment, I wasn't about to succumb to him.

"Do you really think I'd be convinced by what you're saying?" Percy muttered, his gaze sharply piercing mine. He smirked. "I thought you knew me better than that, Nico."

He had a point. My teeth gritted together as he stepped toward me. I was tempted to step back, but that would indicative submission. I was _not _about to be submissive in this situation.

When he slowly took his time to become face to face with me, he leaned closer until the tips of our noses were almost touching. My pulse was beginning to quicken at the lack of space between Percy and me. My hands in my jean pockets were beginning to become sweaty, much to my dismay, but I couldn't help it. I hadn't seen his charming, handsome face in _months. _Can you blame me?

"I love you Nico," he whispered softly to me just so only the two of us would be able to hear. Those desperate eyes seemed even more saddening up close, and I actually had a chance to talk to him for a bit without his girlfriend in the way.

I raised an eyebrow, ignoring the fluttering of my heart and the pleasurable shivers that ran down my spine. "So you say," I retorted. "Look who has a girlfriend. I always knew you'd find one eventually, Jackson."

He physically winced, and I knew exactly why. In the very early days of us meeting each other for the first time, I would always call him by his surname. It was to show him how much I didn't even care about his existence. Whenever I used his last name when we were dating, it was obvious that I was angry.

But now that we weren't together, I was telling him only through that last name how worthless he was to me.

Even though deep inside, he was _everything_ to me.


	4. I Mean My Ex-Boyfriend

_**Author's Note:**__** Flashback warning in this chapter. It'll all be in italics.**_

_**Note: **__**Thank you to my friend for editing these chapters! I really appreciate it!**_

_**Warning**__**: Language, homosexuality (I'll add more along the way)**_

_**Disclaimer**__**: I do not own the names "Goode High School" and "Yancy Academy." They're both from Rick Riordan. The characters and stuff are also from Rick Riordan. Just saying.**_

* * *

**Ignorance**

**Author: Loving Healer**

**Chapter Four: ****How I Met Your Mother-I ****Mean My Ex-Boyfriend**

* * *

When I exited the bathroom, I didn't know what to think when I found myself not being surprised.

It looked as if someone flipped my whole entire bedroom upside down.

"What are you doing?" I raised an eyebrow, leaning against the open doorway as I watched Jason dig through my closet.

He poked his head out from the closet before diving back into my assorted black clothing items. "There isn't even a single sign that you knew Percy!"

"_That's _what you were looking for?" I sighed exasperatedly. I tugged Jason out of my closet by the shirt and he fell to the floor. I trudged over to a box under my desk that appeared to be very untouched and dusty.

I pulled it out, coughing at the amount of dust now circulating in the air. "Oh my god." I ended having such a coughing fit I had to stop looking at the box itself.

"Wait," Jason paused before crawling over to me. "It's in _there?_!"

I nodded. "Why didn't you check this box first before releasing a tornado into my room?"

Jason shrugged, smiling sheepishly. "I thought that box had, like, your gay porn collection or something. I just thought that was something you didn't want me to see so I didn't bother checking."

"My..." My fingers twitched as I suddenly had the urge to slap Jason across the face. Actually, I had the urge almost all the time.

"What? It's guys' nature, right?" Jason chuckled before pulling the box out from underneath my desk.

"So _you _have one? Remind me again why I go into your room."

"I _don't _have one, thanks." Jason flipped open the cap of the box. "I have a girlfriend, so I don't need those things."

I stared blankly at my neighbor. "Right."

He smiled when he saw what was inside. "This is actually pretty cute. The amount of pictures you took with Percy I mean."

I sighed once more, lying on my back against the ground. "Right," I repeated monotonously.

"Why do you hide these anyway? Then again, I can't really see you framing these."

I laughed lightly. "Exactly."

He began delving deeper into the box. I heard a bunch of pictures being shuffled around. I definitely had a ton of pictures in there. I didn't even remember what they were. All I knew was that they all had Percy in it or something.

"Why do you have a seashell in here?"

I rested myself on my elbows as I watched Jason pulling a scallop shell from the box. How it still looked clean was a mystery to me.

"It was how I met Percy," I muttered before collapsing back onto the ground.

"How you met Percy?" Jason frowned. "How _did _you meet him? I would've known if you guys met at school or something, but I had no idea you guys were _dating _for two years! Were you trying to purposefully hide it or something?"

I shook my head. "You just never asked."

"You guys showed _no _sign of knowing each other at school whatsoever."

"You were just never there when I was talking to Percy," I sighed once more. "It wasn't as if we were hiding it from you or anything. You and I were really close back when I was dating Percy, so you never really saw us together." I paused. "Or me in general really."

Jason groaned. "Jeez, I really wish I were as close to you back then as we are now. I can't even imagine you dating someone let alone someone as optimistic as Percy."

I shrugged. "Opposites attract, I guess?"

He rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah. But seriously, tell me how you guys met."

I chuckled. "Why do you want to know so bad?"

"_Because_," Jason drawled. "I want to know how people like you two even met."

"People like you two... Is this supposed to have a hidden meaning or something?"

Jason laughed. "You guys are just complete opposites is all. I can't even imagine Nico di Angelo being in love. I mean, _Nico di Angelo _and _love_ definitely don't belong in the same sentence at all!"

I rolled my eyes. "Whatever you say."

"See, that lazy 'I don't care about the world' and 'fuck you guys don't talk to me' appearance doesn't really scream boyfriend material."

I laughed harder than before. "That's true, I'm not going to lie."

"So tell me how you guys met," Jason demanded, turning around so he could face me instead.

"This is probably the most enthusiasm I've ever seen from you," I muttered before clearing my throat. "This may or may not be a long story. I don't know how much I remember."

Jason handed me the shell and I twirled it around with my fingers.

"I don't remember what I was doing. I think I was sad and lonely because I just didn't have any friends and I lost my family." I shook my head, keeping my gaze on the shell. "I'm not sure what I was doing, but all I remember is I was at the beach and no one was really there because it was winter. It was sunset, and the surfers that were there were starting to pack up and leave."

* * *

_Purple, blue, orange, pink, red, black-all the colors imaginable were visible whenever the sun would set. It always amazed me how right before the world was swallowed into darkness, a burst of color would appear as if telling the world that it wasn't the last time you would see it._

_The cold wind rushed through my hair, and the waves crashed softly against the sand a short distance away from where I was sitting. The colors of the sky reflected off the ocean, making it a more luminescent and radiant hue. The scenery reminded me of something ripped out of a beach magazine._

_The surfers were beginning to depart, and bonfires behind me were just beginning to start. The waves were shrinking as time passed by, and the darkness crept up from the horizon, dissipating any source of light. The hues were fading away, and the colors of my clothes rippled across the beach as the sun disappeared and the moon started to contrast again the black._

_I brought my knees up to my chest, wrapping my arms around them. It was the summer, so it wasn't particularly cold anyway. But I still had my Aviator jacket on. I didn't think I would ever take it off. Taking it off was the equivalent of breaking down my walls._

_How dramatic of me, I know._

_Above me, it looked as if it were nighttime now. The stars were never visible because of all the pollution in the air-courtesy of living in such a bustling and awake city. I could hear the remaining people for the bonfires cheering and celebrating for whatever they accomplished. The waves were now barely grasping onto the sand before slipping away into the darkness only for their hands to emerge again in a repeating, chronic pattern. It was as if I could hear the voices of those who drowned._

_Why was I having such depressing thoughts today? Then again, it happened on a regular basis, so why was I even surprised?_

_I shut my eyes and buried my head into my knees, sighing lightly and feeling the warm breath spread along my face in a kind of soothing manner. The voices of the joyful were drowned out along with my own thoughts, and it felt like I had this empty loneliness-except that I couldn't even feel that loneliness emotion either._

_I just felt like... nothing._

_My eyes slowly opened, but nothing changed. Eyelids closed or not, all I saw was black where my face was buried into my knees. My clothing was black as well, so it wasn't as if I would see any other colors._

_"Hey."_

_I lifted my head and turned my gaze over my shoulder. I squinted at the amount of foreign light now entering my gaze from the bonfires behind me. Sea green eyes and windswept hair was all I saw see with my temporary impaired sight._

_"Who are you?"_

_He chuckled with a deep voice. "Can I sit down?"_

_I scowled at him. "Who are you?" I repeated sternly._

_His eyebrows rose. "Is it bad if I want to talk to you?"_

_"Who are you?" I repeated once more._

_The teenager exhaled deeply. "Is that all you're going to say to me?"_

_I switched my gaze over to the ocean attempting to reach me, its hands clawing at the sand before retreating and disappearing into the dark and unknown._

_To my annoyance, the stranger sat down anyway. A short silence passed between us, and it was hard trying to pretend he wasn't there. I was prepared to stand up and leave until I heard his voice again._

_"Are you here alone?"_

_I turned my gaze toward him. "Why do you care? Aren't you here with anyone?"_

_He grinned, switching his eyes over to me instead of the ocean. "Yeah. I'm with my friends over there." He gestured with a single finger over to a nearby bonfire where numerous teenagers were laughing and drinking from those cliché red, plastic cups._

_I narrowed my eyes. "Then why are you here?"_

_He laughed lightly. "Oh, so you get to ask me questions and I don't?"_

_"You never even told me your name, so why should I?"_

_Humming, he said, "I guess that's true. My name is Percy. What's yours?"_

_"Nico."_

_"Nico, huh?" Percy offered me another one of his sickening, enthusiastic smiles. "Why are you here alone?"_

_I shrugged. "Should I not be?"_

_Percy drowned slightly. "Well, I mean, it just seems kind of sad seeing you all alone."_

_"Why is that? Don't you know that some people like being alone?"_

_He stretched his arms, setting his palms onto the sand and leaning against them. Percy threw his head back and stared at the nonexistent stars. "I just get the impression that you don't, no matter how much you make it sound like you do."_

_I narrowed my eyes at him once more, but I chose not to reply. He was right, but I didn't want to admit it out loud. My silence was enough to hint at him how right he was._

_"Do you want to hang out with my friends too?" He tilted his head. "I could bring you over there. I'm pretty positive they won't care."_

_I shook my head. "Absolutely not. Your friends look obnoxious."_

_Percy laughed. "They kind of are. Some of them aren't, but you get used to them. Are you sure you don't want to?"_

_"I'm very sure I don't want to. You should get back to them though."_

_"Why should I if you're not?"_

_I raised an eyebrow. "Because they're your friends and not mine?"_

_He hummed. "I guess that's true. But I feel kind of bad if I left you here."_

_I rolled my eyes, standing up and brushing the sand off my jeans. "Don't be because I'm just about to leave anyway. I was only really here for the sunset anyway. I hate the ocean."_

_"Seriously?!" Percy appeared taken aback. "I love the ocean!"_

_"Good for you." I was beginning to retreat until I heard his voice again._

_"Nico, is it? What school do you go to?"_

_I turned around, burying my hands deep into my jacket pockets. One of my hands hit something in a pocket. Unusual, because I didn't remember putting anything into my pocket except for my phone._

_"Why do you care?" I questioned flatly._

_He shrugged. "I just wanted to see if we had a chance of seeing each other again or something like that. I want to get to know you more."_

_"Olympus High School," I answered, watching the waves behind Percy glide across the sand and rush into a better world before reappearing and beckoning toward me as if trying to get me to follow them to whatever better world they found._

_His sea green eyes lit up so they looked like emeralds. "Really? So do I!"_

_"I guess this isn't the last time you'll see me then. If you can find me that is." I pivoted on my heels and headed home. As I was trudging home, I pulled out whatever was in my pocket excluding my phone._

_It was a scallop's shell. The only other person I could suspect was Percy. But, how did he get it in my pocket in the first place?_

_I unlocked the door of my home and swung it open before stepping inside. There was this weird feeling in my chest-this feeling of longing._ _Was it for Percy?_

_I slid my thumb across the surface of the shell. Why would I be longing for Percy? I only just met the guy. Well, I guess he was nice. But with my luck, I was betting it was the last time that I would talk to him._

_Little did I know, however._


End file.
